One of my favorite things to do is sit by a fire and talk with friends. I get to know others best when we can spend uninterrupted and unhurried time together. William Stafford’s* poem “Ask Me” invites us into just such a conversation – albeit much colder – when he says, “Some time when the river is ice ask me … whether what I have done is my life. … You and I can turn and look at the silent river and wait.”

This spring semester’s opening convocation on Feb 9 takes its title from Stafford’s poem. I’m going to use the opportunity to talk with several faculty and students about how they learn from others. We’re a place where becoming our best selves is best done in community by connecting with and listening to one another, even when we disagree passionately.

Join me next Tuesday to hear from Ahmed Abdelmageed, Michelle Calka, Quinn-Michael L'Heureux, Salwa Nubani, Jarod Schrock and Cheri Krueckeberg. You’ll also see many of your friends and colleagues answering these questions:

• “What are you passionate about?”
• “What is something you often argue about?”
• “What do you do when you argue with someone you respect?”

*In 1970, William Stafford was named the Library of Congress’s Consultant in Poetry, a position now known as the United States Poet Laureate. Well before he achieved national acclaim, Stafford taught for one year at Manchester, 1955-56.